UPDATE: THERE will be no further debate about the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has signed off on a new management plan for the Murray Darling Basin.
He did so in the presence of Prime Minister Julia Gillard today.
"The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is now law,'' Mr Burke tweeted.
Mr Burke last night received a final version of the Murray Darling Basin plan outlining a strategy for the system.
The plan returns 2750 gigalitres of surface water to the environment.
Mr Burke said it also set up a mechanism to let governments improve environmental, social our economic outcomes provided improving one doesn't sacrifice either of the others.
The minister said the plan will also flush an average of two million tonnes of salt from the basin each year.
It's hoped the plan for the basin will mean the Murray mouth is open more than nine years out of 10.
MDBA chair Craig Knowles yesterday said the plan was the culmination of years of hard work by basin residents, scientists, environmentalists, industry and politicians from state and federal governments.
"The plan now before the Minister has very much been shaped by the ideas and suggestions we've received," Mr Knowles said in a statement.
"I congratulate all those who have remained involved and helped create a sensible and flexible approach to take us into a new era of water management."
Earlier yesterday the upper house passed a bill allowing adjustments to be made to the amount of water that can be sustainably taken from the basin.
The MDBA needed to wait for it to get the green light before handing a final version of its basin plan to Mr Burke.
The Senate still needs to debate another piece of legislation linked to funding an extra 450GL for the Murray ecosystem, but it's also expected to clear the chamber.
